Crossing the Line
by Violets and Lilies
Summary: When Linda's new boyfriend becomes abusive, Laurel turns to her father for help. But, will Pride and Linda take this opportunity to begin the reconciliation process? Rated T for obvious reasons.
1. Chapter 1

Pride unconsciously stirred a large pop of red beans and rice with a deep scowl on his face; the team was gone for the evening and there were no pressing cases to puzzle over, so his mind had turned to a personal problem. It had been over two months since Laurel had stopped by to visit and, what was even worse, he couldn't get a straight answer out of her as to why.

He thought back to the last time that he'd seen her. As far as he could think, she wasn't angry with him and, even if she had been then, two months with barely a phone call from her was unfathomable.

There was definitely something amiss and her indirect cagey excuses frightened the daylights out of him.

" _Dad_?"

Her voice made him spin around with joy, but when he saw her face, his eyes widened in horror and the elated greeting died on his lips

"What the—?" he snapped sharply, dropping the spoon on the stovetop and bolting to her side with a chair in his hand.

"Sit," he instructed, dropping it in front of her.

His experienced eyes couldn't miss her bruised cheek, split upper lip, and black eye, even though she'd given a valiant effort to cover them with makeup.

"I'm okay, dad," she said, trying to reassure him, "I'm okay."

He shook his head emphatically, "No, you're not, baby girl. I know better than that." He squatted down in front of her, searching her eyes, trying to find the answer, "Am I gonna have to kill Orion?"

" _No, no, no!_ It wasn't him!" she cried, vigorously shaking her head.

"Okay, okay, then tell me what happened?"

She hung her head and was silent for a long minute, a few tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Come on, baby girl!" he insisted, reaching out to her, "You've got to tell me what happened."

"I know, I know," she admitted, "I came here to get your advice." She paused again, shuddering, then dropped the bombshell, "It was mom's new boyfriend."

Pride's eyebrows shot upward in surprise. Linda's new boyfriend? He didn't even know that his ex-wife was seeing someone again. The last that he'd heard, she'd broken up with...whatever the guy's name was.

"Your mother is seeing someone? Why didn't you tell me?"

Laurel nodded silently, a few more tears sliding down her blushing cheeks. "I'm sorry, dad," she answered in a small voice.

"Has he hurt her too?"

Laurel shook her head, the tears flowing faster now.

Pride could never abide his daughter crying and he moved quickly to scoop her into his arms, cuddling her as he had when she was little. They clung to each other for a few minutes then Laurel pushed away.

"Dad…" she laughed softly.

He pulled her close again, "We've gotta talk, baby girl." Heading back to the stove with her in his arms, he stirred their dinner and asked, "Can you eat something?"

Sniffing the aromatic steam coming up from his cooking, something of her old self returned before his eyes. "Well, if I couldn't before, I can now," she answered, sighing contentedly and kissing his cheek.

He gently set her down in a chair at the table and kissed her forehead before returning to the stove to dish up two heaping bowls of food and fill their glasses with sweet tea.

"Don't you usually have a drink at night?" Laurel asked as he sat down beside her.

"Not when I'm working," he answered, "and I've gotta a feeling that I'm gonna be working late tonight." He paused for a moment, taking in the sight of her and nursing his fury against the man who'd hurt her, then he demanded, "So, tell me about this guy?"

"Well, ah," she began, her voice catching a little before she forged ahead, "His name is Angelo Lopez."

Pride's eyebrows rose sharply again, "Not the big oil man from Austin?"

"Yeah, him." Laurel nodded, nervously stirring her food for a minute before taking a bite, "They started seeing each other a couple months ago. He said that he saw us eating at a Papa John's and mom just inspired him so he found out who she was and asked her out." She rolled her eyes, "I know, it sounded cheesy to me at first."

Pride scowled, snarling something savage under his breath. Laurel's story instantly set off warning bells in his head and he couldn't help but wonder if Linda was being targeted as a way to get to him; he couldn't believe that she'd be fooled by that pick-up line; it had to be the oldest stalker line in the book.

"He's was nice though, dad," Laurel argued.

Pride shook his head, "You're mom is better than that."

"And romantic," she continued.

"Laurel…" he gently warned, intensely disliking that description.

"And he was super sweet to me," she went on, ignoring him, "...at first." She finished her description with a downcast sigh.

A dangerous light flashed in Pride's eyes. "At first?" he questions, pressing for more details, "What's that mean?"

Laurel blushed deeply, knowing that he would have a fit over the next part of the story, "Well, ah, um, he bought me a bunch of stuff: clothes, jewelry, anything he thought I wanted." She could practically feel the temperature in the room rise to the boiling point as she watched her father's reaction, "He even tried to buy me a brand new car."

" _Laurel_!" Pride exploded, " _What the—_ "

" _Whoa_ , _dad_ , _whoa_ ," she quickly interrupted, holding up her hands, "It didn't happen; mom put her foot down on that one." She hurried to continue before he started ranting, distinctly embarrassed by what she'd already told him. Pride's expression made her cringe, but she was glad that he'd stopped yelling.

"Then, about a month ago," she continued, cautiously eyeing him, "he seemed to decided that he'd had enough of me. He stopped buying me things, I wasn't invited to go out with them when I visited from school." She shuddered again, "Sometimes, I'd get to his house and they won't even be there. His housekeeper knew to let me in, but then I'd be there all alone overnight." She shivered, "Mom hates it when that happens, but somehow he always manages to argue her down."

Pride felt sick; why hadn't anyone told him about this? Then again, was he getting so slow that he just didn't pick up on it? Then a sudden light bulb came on in his head; this must be why Laurel had been avoiding him for the last couple months!

"Then," she said, her teary voice bringing his attention back to the present conversation, "this past weekend, I went to Austin to take mom out for a surprise birthday lunch. I wanted it to be just the two of us since Angelo is always crowding me out lately and I chose lunch over dinner because I figured that he'd be at a golf course, or his club, or somewhere else during the day and I didn't want to start a fight between them."

Pride's stormy expression made him look formidable, but he remained silent, listening, sensing the climax was just ahead.

"But, when I got there," she continued, "he met me at the door and said that mom was waiting for him at his club and they were gonna fly to Palm Beach on his private jet and stay at Donald Trump's Mar a Lago resort for the whole week to celebrate her birthday." Tears streamed down her cheeks again, as she finished, "He said that I should just go back to school and forget about trying to take mom away from him. I don't know how he found out about the lunch, but," she indicated her face, "he did this to emphasize his point."

Pride moved like lightening to scoop her up again, tears coming to his own eyes now, "Shh, baby girl. You're safe now. I've got you. I've got you. I'll take care of this; I swear, I'll take care of this."

"I didn't know what else to do," she said, her body wracked with sobs as she clung to him, "I'm sorry, dad. I was ashamed to come before because of all the things that he was buying for me and then this happened and I didn't know what else to do."

Pride carried her out of the kitchen and all the way up to his bedroom, then he tucked her in and kissed her goodnight, "I wish you'd come before, baby girl, but you did the right thing now." He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, "Sleep tight, Laurel."

"Where are you going?" she asked, sitting up on her elbow.

"I'm gonna call your mom to wish her a happy birthday," he said; the smile on his mouth told her that he'd do more than that.

"Be careful!" she blurted out.

He looked amused, waiting for an explanation.

Laurel blushed, "Sometimes Angelo picks up her phone."

A mixture of pleasure and danger flashed into Pride's expression, "Well, then, I'll just have to have a very interesting conversation with him."

* * *

 **Author's Note** : Since this is my first NCIS New Orleans chapter story, I ought to let my newest readers know that, for the most part, I'm pretty terrible about updating my chapters in a timely manner so I invite you to please click "follow" if you want to read this. In fact, I'm not even settled about how many chapters I'm going to write for this story so that's even more reason to "follow" if you're going to read it.


	2. Chapter 2

Even though Linda and her boyfriend sat on the far side of the room and hundreds of people milled about in between them, Pride's eyes instantly found her as he and Brody entered Mar a Logo's golden ballroom, set up for a relaxing luncheon for the guests.

He couldn't quite keep a scowl off his mouth; her short black cocktail dress was obviously new and very tight. Seeing her for the first time in over six months, she took his mind off Laurel, who was staying at the safe house with Percy, and Lasalle and Patton's investigation into Lopez's personal life and business.

Fascinated by the way the room's lighting seemed to give her an otherworldly glow, Pride loathed the wealthy oil tycoon who was sitting across from her; she'd been hysterical upon learning about what had happened to Laurel and her screams still rang in his ears.

Now he just hoped that their hastily arranged extraction plans would go smoothly.

"Have you ever seen so much gold in one room?" Brody whispered beside him, briefly pulling his attention away from his ex-wife; his NCIS partner looked around the room with wide-eyed wonder and a frown of distaste, "This is way more gaudy than the historic homes that I've seen in New Orleans."

Pride smiled slightly, "Well, Trump isn't a old southern gentleman, Brody. You can't expect him to decorate like one."

"Ugh, was King Midas his interior decorator? I keep getting the feeling that, if I touch anything, I'll turn to gold too." She suddenly grinned, "Lasalle said that if I broke anything; I'd have to buy it."

"That's two good reasons to not touch anything, Brody," Pride whispered back, with a wink and a grin.

Turning back to Linda; he was completely bowled over by how gorgeous she was. Had he just forgotten it since he'd moved out or had she gotten even more beautiful?

Suddenly she turned towards the entrance and they locked eyes; Pride quickly turned away, praying that she'd take the hint.

"Let's find our seats, Brody," he said, taking her elbow and practically dragging her along.

When he glanced back at his ex-wife, he smiled to see that she appeared to be completely engrossed in whatever Lopez was yakking about.

"We're still on schedule," Brody murmured, as they casually sat down, by good fortune only a few tables away from Linda and Lopez.

"Yes, we are," Pride agreed softly, suddenly anxious to get going; he desperately wanted to get Linda away from that thug's prying eyes.

"There you are, sir, miss." the waitress said, as she set their soup bowls down and refilled their wine glasses, "I hope you enjoy."

"I sure we will," Brody answered politely, picking up her spoon and taking a small sip. When the waitress was out of earshot, she added, with a smile, "But not as much as I enjoy _your_ cooking, Pride."

"Thanks, Brody," he answered, grinning back at her. He let her eat for a few minutes so that they'd look inconspicuous, then added, "It's showtime."

Without a word, Brody silently rose from her seat and headed for the bathroom. After she was well on her way and almost without thinking, Pride glanced at Linda again; his heart almost stopped when he saw that she openly staring at him too.

She knows better than that! he thought, a flash of anger and fear making him momentarily senseless. Then the moment passed and he regained control, spinning away again and forcing down a large spoonful of his french onion soup; A few minutes later, he sensed rather than saw her leave her table and head for the bathroom.

Sighing with relief, he noted out of the corner of his eye that Lopez was sullenly picking at his salad and Pride opted to take a minute to enjoy his food too. Then, suddenly, a large hulking shadow loomed over him and he looked up to see Linda's boyfriend easing his massive frame into Brody's seat; his hard cold eyes studied Pride as if he was a piece of meat at the grocery store.

For his size, Pride duly noted to himself, he's as quick as a cat.

Returning Lopez's glare with a nonchalant one of his own, Pride didn't even consider the fact that his time was short if they were to stay on schedule; he was completely comfortable with the idea of taking Lopez out then and there, even in front of hundreds of wealthy guests. Heck, if they knew what Lopez had done, most of them would probably give him a standing ovation anyway. He even briefly considered drowning the oil tycoon in Brody's tomato bisque soup but he knew that, unfortunately, the bowl was two small for his face to fit.

"I just wanted to let you know that I saw you watching _my wife_ ," Lopez hissed in a low murderous tone. When he saw that Pride didn't intend to reply, he added, "I don't appreciate that."

For another long minute, Pride simply stared back, his arms folded over his chest and his eyes gleaming with wrath. Then, slowly, he leaned forward and said menacingly, "You keep your filthy hands off my daughter _and_ Linda or I'll make you wish that you'd never heard of me."

Lopez drew back, momentarily startled by the opposition that this lean, rankish, obviously older man was putting up. He was not used to such insolence, though he knew how to take care of people who got in his way.

" _Who are you_?" he growled, feeling his way through the unexpected situation.

Pride smiled, "Your worst nightmare, Lopez. We're not through." Then he got up and left.

~*0*~

"Have you found _anything_ yet, Patton?" Lasalle demanded, for probably the hundredth time that morning, as he stormed into the Investigative Computer Specialist's office.

"No, and I'm sure ain't gonna find anything if _somebody_ can't leave me alone for two seconds," Patton answered, giving Lasalle a meaningful look, "This Lopez dude's computers have every safety feature known to man. But don't worry, Triple P ain't gonna back down from a challenge."

Lasalle almost grinned, "Well, alright, but you let me know the _second_ that you get something, you hear? It doesn't feel right for me to sit around here while King's family is in danger."

"You're just jealous because he didn't take you to Palm Beach with him," Patton shot back.

Lasalle's grinned this time, "That's true too."

He headed back into the headquarters' large main room and, glancing up at the huge monitors that allowed them to communicate with Loretta, Sebastian, and anyone else they wanted too, he wondered if their geeky forensic scientist could help them with their search through Lopez's assets.

"Sebastian!" he greeted, when their friend's face appeared on the screen, "I've got a favor to ask you."

"You had me at hello, Chris," Sebastian answered.

"What?"

"Oh, uh, never mind. I-I was watching a documentary on 90's movies last night."

"You're a weird dude, Sebastian."

"Yeah, I've heard that before. Anyways, name that tune?"

" _Sebastian_!"

"Oh, sorry, I meant, what can I do for you?"

Lasalle rolled his eyes, "Sorry, Sebastian, we've got a situation here. I can't joke around right now."

"I'm all ears, Chris," Sebastian replied seriously, then added curiously, "Where's Dwayne?"

"I'll get to that."

Forging ahead, Lasalle detailed the last thirty-six hours in a rush, then asked, "Can you help us?"

"I'm all over it, Chris."

"I knew I could count on you. Thanks Sebastian."

"No, problem."

"Hey, Lasalle!" Patton's excited voice called from the doorway of his office.

"Yeah?"

"Triple P just scored a hit."

~*0*~

" _Pride_!" Brody called, the relief evident in her voice as he pushed through the front double doors in a rush and stepped into the muggy Florida heat; he looked dangerous, "What happened? You're five minutes late!"

"Sorry, Brody," he answered, with a tight smile, "I had a little run in with Lopez." He reached out to his ex-wife, adding, "He came over to our table."

"I'm so sorry, Dwayne," Linda murmured, as she came willingly into his embrace and pressed her head into his shoulder, "I never meant—"

"Shh, it'll be alright now," he whispered back, closing his eyes as he held her tightly, "It'll be alright."

"Where's Laurel?" she asked, her head still pressed against him.

"With Sonja at the safe house," he answered gently, automatically rubbing her back as he held her, "I'm taking you there now too." With a shift nod at Brody," he added, "We'd better be going."

She nodded seriously, happy that he was safe, but all too aware of the persisting danger; his delay had frightened her more than she cared to admit. "I'm just glad that Lasalle didn't call while you were still in there," she said, her voice strained. Suddenly her phone rang and she grinned when she looked at the ID.

"Well, speak of the devil…"

* * *

 **Author's Notes** : If you weren't quite satisfied with this first Pride-Lopez meeting, don't worry, there'll be more. I just didn't want to do anything climactic at the beginning of the story.

Has everyone heard the news about Vanessa Ferlito joining the cast for Season 3? I'd love to hear your opinions/speculations on this!

Happy early 4th of July, American readers!


	3. Chapter 3

Having taking Percy's place in the safehouse, Pride helped his ex-wife do the dishes after dinner while Laurel worked on a paper in another room.

Regardless of the strange vibe in the air, to him being in such close proximity to Linda was like a dream come true. Eying her cautiously, out of the corner of his eye, he wondered if this whole mess with Lopez might be the thing that brought them back together.

"So…," he ventured carefully, thinking that the case would be the safest topic to get a conversation started, "Have you been able to think of any reason for Lopez to wire ten million dollars to an account in Honduras?"

She set a soapy glass down with agitated force, her hand trembling, " _No_! I haven't got any idea!"

Pride was sorely tempted to scoop her into his arms and console her with assurances that all was well, but he controlled himself. After all, to say that things were alright would be an obvious lie and he really did needed to know if she could give him anything that would shed light on the situation.

"I-I mean," she continued, "I knew he was rich, obviously, but I knew nothing about his accounts." She shook her head and shrugged miserably, "We'd just been dating for two months and I assumed that he was on the up and up. Isn't that what you do when you're dating someone?"

Pride bit his tongue before answering, "Well, no...especially not when you've only been dating him for two months."

Her face instantly crumpled, "Alright, you're right. I know." She shook her head again, grief stricken, "I-I was stupid and-and I-I got dazzled." Raising her hands to her face, she fought a losing battle against her tears, "I'm sorry, Dwayne. I'm so sorry."

At this point restraint was beyond Pride. Quickly grabbing her, he pulled her close, "Shh, Linda. It'll be alright now. It'll be alright."

" _No_!" she admonished forcefully, pulling away, "It's _not_ alright, Dwayne." She shook her head vehemently, "I-I left you because I was to afraid that _you'd_ get hurt or Laurel would get hurt because one of _your_ cases would come home with you, but _I_ did this! This is _my_ fault! Do you have _any idea-_ "

"Shh, Linda," he said, gripping her tightly and fighting to keep his voice calm, " _Yes_ , I know exactly how you feel." He swallowed hard, "I felt like this after that bomb almost killed her. Then again when she got attacked at school."

He shook his head sorrowfully, "As much as it nearly killed me, I thought that you were right to get her and yourself away from me after those." His breath was rough with emotion and he was also losing a battle against his tears, "And I would have stayed away too, if I knew for certain that it would keep _her_ and _you_ safe. That's all I want. That's all I've ever wanted."

Linda slowly raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck, pressing her face into his chest. Speaking softly, with his shirt muffling her voice, she said, "No, no, I never wanted that. I'm just so sorry about all this."

They held each other tightly for a long time, as if all the animosity between them had suddenly vanished, then slowly Linda drew back a couple inches. "You know," she whispered, her voice emotional, "It's been a _really_ long time."

"Yes, it has," Pride agreed, forcing himself to breathe steadily; it was so hard to just stare at her and nothing else.

But she made the decision for him. Suddenly pulling back, she ran a hand through her thick brunette hair and sighed, "I know, you can't. You're on duty."

Pride made a face, heartily disappointed even though he knew that, ultimately, she was right. He was on duty. They weren't married anymore. There were probably more reasons to not rock this boat. And yet…

"So, what happens now?" she asked, stepping backwards. Then, just to be clear, she added, "About the case."

He stepped towards her, unconsciously not wanting to add to the space that separated them. "Brody will be at headquarters tomorrow, taking care of things there, and I'm sending Christopher and Sonja to Austin to look into Lopez's business up close." He smiled, "I've got a hunch that he's hiding something under all that black gold of his."

"Another hunch, huh?" she murmured, smiling because that was why she'd fallen in love with him in the first place.

"Yeah," he answered, remembering the same thing.

She took another step back, hesitant to stir old memories to the surface. He took another step forward, not wanting to let go so easily again.

"Dwayne…" she said softly.

"What?"

"You know what."

A small smile tugged on his mouth.

Suddenly, she burst out laughing, feeling like a highschooler, "This is ridiculous!"

" _What_? _Why_?"

"You're on duty, Dwayne!" she admonished.

"All the more reason for me to stick close," he replied, a twinkle in his eyes.

She laughed despite herself, then she spun around and headed out of the kitchen, "Let's go check on Laurel—before this gets dangerous."

He bit his tongue again, believing wholeheartedly that simply being together again was already dangerous. Then, recalling the times that, when Laurel was a baby, they'd stood side by side in her doorway to watch her sleep in her crib, he said softly, "Just like old times."

Then he followed behind with glowing eyes.

* * *

It was almost noon the next day when Lasalle and Percy climbed out of their rental car and stared up at the huge glass and steel skyscraper that was the headquarters of Lopez Petroleum.

"Well, now, that is one big shiny building," Percy noted.

"You're not afraid of heights, are you, Percy?" Lasalle teased, "I read that it has fifty-five floors."

" _No_!" she retorted, sternly.

"Well, I'm just a little disappointed," he admitted. Grinning, he heaped on more jests, "As your work husband, I was hoping that I'd be able to protect you."

She rolled her eyes and started sauntering towards the building. "Keep dreaming, Lasalle," she called over her shoulder.

"About you?" he asked, "I never stop." Then he sprinted to catch up, "Hey, wait up!"

"Nope," she shook her head as he fell into step beside her, "I intend to go into that big shiny building and ask Angelo Lopez why he treated Laurel's face like his personal punching bag!" Her eyes blazed with anger, "You just don't do that to my girl!"

Lasalle's expression was equally determined, "This guy is a goner alright."

They took the elevator up to the top floor and stepped out into a circular lobby with an almost three hundred-sixty degree panorama.

"Nice view," Percy murmured, eying everything suspiciously.

"Just don't stand too close to the glass," Lasalle advised, as they strode up to the front desk, "From what I've read, this Lopez dude is a real piece of work."

As they held up their badges for the young receptionist to see, he continued, "We're Federal Agents, ma'am, and we'd like to ask Mr. Lopez some questions."

"Mr. Lopez is in a meeting," she retorted sternly, instinctively shrinking away from their badges.

"That's okay," Percy answered, "We'll wait."

"He'll be out all day," she insisted.

"We'll take our chances," Lasalle answered, nodding towards the lobby's chairs, "We'll sit there."

"Suit yourself," she answered shortly, then turned away.

The two agents sat and read magazines for almost a half an hour, intermittently whispering to one another. Then Percy got up and walked back to the receptionist.

"My partner and I need to use your restrooms?"

"Both the men's and women's rooms are down that hall," she said, pointing. Refusing to meet Percy's eyes, she continued to work on her computer.

"Thank you," Percy said politely, motioning for Lasalle to follow her.

"I hope that Lopez really is in a meeting," Percy continued, once they were out of earshot, then stopped short, "Bingo. Here it is."

They cautiously opened the door a crack and peeked inside, verifying that no one was home, then hurried in. "Let's look around and skedaddle," Lasalle said, "Before you-know-who comes."

"I hope you feel lucky," Percy said, "because whenever I do something like this, the person _always_ comes back early."

"I always feel lucky when I'm with you," Percy," Lasalle answered, a huge grin lighting his face.

"I walked right into that one," she muttered, rolling her eyes as she headed for Lopez's computer. To her surprise, she didn't even have to dig to find something interesting; it was already on the screen! " _Whoa_ , what the—Lasalle, come look at this. It's a list of women's names with...prices."

Lasalle was by her side in a heartbeat and, to his shock, it didn't take him long to find a name that he recognized.

"Petty Officer Marla Mann of New Orleans," he murmured softly, his eyes taking on a deeply reflective look. He remembered the case like it was yesterday.

"You know her?" Percy asked, surprised.

"Yeah," he whispered, "If Savannah wasn't still in the picture back then, I would have asked her out in a heartbeat."

"Oh?" Percy asked, curious.

Lasalle shrugged, "Well, Savannah wasn't the only reason. Marla was caught up in a case that we were working on." Winking, he added, "And far be it from me to date a girl who's involved in case that I'm working on."

Percy shook her head, biting her tongue, "So, what about this case? Do you think it could be connected with why her name is on this list?"

"It sure could be," Lasalle acknowledged, stiffening with a realization when he thought back to the case, "Marla got caught up with a human trafficking syndicate that targeted young American women." He shook his head, "Their pitch was that the girls would go overseas on "cultural exchange programs" for a year."

His eyes flashed with rage, "Unfortunately, the vast majority didn't come home."

"It was an FBI case before Marla got caught up in it, but King moved heaven and earth to get us read in." He continued, suddenly grinning, "The FBI had no choice because she was Navy." Then he sighed wearily, "But, we barely got her out before she went overseas."

"So, what about the Syndicate?" Percy asked, "What happened to them?"

"It was a huge worldwide operation, with cells on every continent. We took out the leadership of the New Orleans cell," he answered, then scowled, "but after we recovered Marla, the FBI kicked us off the investigation so...I don't know what's happened since."

"Figures," Percy huffed, then asked, "So, how did Petty Officer Mann fall in with the scum?"

Lasalle thought back for a minute, "From what I remember, her parents had just divorced and the cell leader had formed a friendship with her mother. When Marla came home on leave for a few weeks, he immediately started grooming her to trust him and-"

"Well, that sounds familiar…" Percy interrupted, a strange expression on her face.

Lasalle froze, suddenly realizing the connection. "I'm calling Pride," he snapped, jerking his phone out of his pocket with fire in his eyes.

"I already did," Percy said, holding up her phone.

~*0*~

After lunch, Pride and Linda worked quietly on a medium-sized jigsaw puzzle, having made the excuse that they wanted Laurel to have time to work on her paper.

But, try as he might to concentrate on the pieces that were spread across the table, Pride found that his mind kept drifting back to last night. He thought that things had gone very well, considering everything that was between them.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her, wondering if she felt the same way, but found himself disappointed that she seemed so absorbed in the puzzle; he must have glanced at her ten times in the last three or four minutes!

"Have you ever done crossword puzzles?" he asked, hoping for some interaction, "I saw some in the same closet where I found this. We could do one together..."

"Wouldn't that be too loud for Laurel?" she asked, without looking up; her tone seemed to suggest that she preferred the current silence.

"Are you kidding? The Princeton Review has consistently said that we've sent our baby girl to one of the biggest party schools in the nation and she gets nearly straight A's!" he said, pressing his luck, "If we don't give her a little excitement, she might fall asleep!"

Finally, Linda raised her eyes to met his and she chuckled, admiring his effort despite herself, "You know, you're right. Bring it on!"

He hopped up, elated at the thought of more interaction. Then his phone beeped and his mood plummeted. Didn't his team know that he was with his family?

"Sorry, I gotta take this; it's Percy." He moved away quickly, his face reddening when he remembered that he should actually want to take this call.

" _Pride_!" her voice was animated, "You're not gonna believe what we found on Lopez's computer!"

Going into elaborate detail, she narrated all that had happened so far in Austin; as Pride listened his expression turned as hard as stone.

"So, you think Lopez is part of the Syndicate?" he asked

"He could be part of a new cell to replace the one that NCIS took out; maybe they think that if they're in Austin—"

"Well, when he gets back from his meeting," Pride interrupted, in a bristling tone, "You guys tell him that he's got another one in New Orleans! I want him in our interrogation room by tomorrow!"

"We'll try, Pride," she answered, suddenly remembering that they'd found their information via an illegal search without a warrant.

"You'll _do_ , Sonja," Pride snapped.

"Alright," she said, gulping silently; it was useless to argue. Then, after a pause, she quickly added, "Lasalle wants to talk to you."

"Yeah?" Pride asked, when Lasalle came on a moment later.

"I just remembered how brutal the Syndicate was to girls who tried to escape and members who squealed or wanted to get out. Marla is still in New Orleans; I'm worried about her."

"I'll call Brody right now." Pride reassured him, his heartbeat quickening with the urgency of bringing Lopez in to talk, "Good thinking, Christopher."

* * *

 **Author's Note** : I'm sorry for the delay in posting this chapter but my life has been on the hectic side lately and, unfortunately, it will continue to be for a bit longer. I'm hoping that this extra long chapter will hold you over. Thanks for understanding!


	4. Chapter 4

As Brody pulled into Petty Officer Mann's driveway, she slipped her phone into her back pocket and chuckled to herself. Sebastian was so kind and absolutely hilarious! At first, she'd thought that it was a little strange when he'd asked her to go to dinner with him tonight, but now she was beginning to like the idea.

But, first things first, she thought, as she climbed out of her car and silently pulled her weapon; there was just something about this place that wasn't right.

Waiting quietly for a minute after she knocked on the door, her keen eyes swept across the porch and yard, looking for a tangible reason as to why her skin was crawling.

"Petty Officer Mann?" she called, her heartbeat increasing when she got no reply, "I'm Meredith Brody with NCIS—"

Abruptly, she clamped her mouth shut and her eyes narrowed when her ears caught the sound of a persistent creaking coming from the inside of the house. _What was that_?

" _NCIS_!" she yelled, kicking the door in. Then she stopped short and her jaw dropped.

Marla Mann's body was hanging from a creaky ceiling fan, being gently guided along in a circular pattern as the fan turned on low power.

"What the—" Brody whispered, before a flash of anger took over. No one deserved to die like this!

Ripping her phone out of her pocket, she called Loretta.

"I-I've got a body for you. No, I'm okay. it's just a grisly scene." After a pause, she answered, "Yeah, I know, they're all grisly in their own way."

After hanging up, she paused briefly to study at the girl's face again before calling Pride. She couldn't overstate her sorrow.

Then, suddenly, she forgot everything when a sharp pain hit her back and she sank to the floor with a long dagger embedded in the middle of her spine.

Her eyelids fluttered for a moment before the darkness took over.

~*0*~

"Well, hi—" Percy started to say as Lopez's office door swung open and his receptionist stormed in, "Oh, it's you. We were hoping that Mr. Lopez would be back. We've been waiting for a little while."

"I know good and well what you were hoping," the receptionist spat, her eyes flashing with anger and, Percy thought, fear, "You lied to me when you said that you needed to use the restroom."

"It was for a good cause," Percy replied.

"You need to leave," the receptionist said forcefully, " _now_."

"Hang on a minute, ma'am," Lasalle broke in, "You're boss is involved in a case that we're working on."

"I-I don't recall Mr. Lopez mentioning being the subject of an investigation," she replied, suddenly timid.

"That's too bad," Lasalle answered, holding his ground, "but, it doesn't change anything."

"Is everything alright, Karla?" Lopez's voice came from down the hall. Then he appeared, raising his eyebrows in surprise at the sight of two strangers beside his computer.

"We're NCIS," Lasalle informed him, watching the enormously thick man as a matador watches a bull; both he and Percy had their badges in hand.

"And, we need to ask you a few questions," Percy added, sizing him up as a tiger seizes up its prey.

"Do you now?" Lopez purred calmly. Glancing sharply at his receptionist, he gave her a quick toss of his head, "We'll talk about this later; you may return to work."

She beat a very hasty retreat.

Lopez crossed the room slowly, with his hands clasped in front of him in a way that unmistakably reminded the two agents of a choke hold, "I don't recall my company having any dealings with your Navy."

"There's an assault charge," Lasalle said, unflinching.

"Assault?" Lopez looked surprised, chuckling softly, "My dear boy, the American Navy is badly mistaken; I have nothing but respect for your armed forces."

"Then why'd you use Laurel Pride's face as a punching bag?" Percy growled.

" _What_?" Lopez's eyebrows rose sharply, "But, how did you-" His eyes narrowed, "Wait, Laurel isn't in the Navy."

"Well, now, we're just full of surprises, aren't we?" Lasalle answered, easily sidestepping the question; sometimes interrogating suspects gave new meaning to the phrase "deadly dance" and, due to Pride's mentoring, he'd learned to dance well.

Lopez gritted his teeth, angered that Linda hadn't mentioned that her daughter had a naval career; she'd told him that the girl was a music major at LSU. Well, no matter, as soon as his men tracked her down and returned her to him, they'd have a little chat about it.

"Alright, fine," he sighed heavily, "I admit it. I lost it for a minute. I'd had a bad day Oil stocks are down, you know; it's very disconcerting for me." He spread his arms graciously, "Have a seat, you two. I'll answer all your questions. What does she want? I little money, I presume?"

Percy's smile slightly, "Oh, if only you were that lucky." After a pause for dramatic effect, she added, "But see, unfortunately, you're not that lucky."

"And why is that, sweetheart?" Lopez asked, giving her patronizing smile.

"I'm sorry, sir, but you need to come to New Orleans for questioning," Lasalle said, a little surprised but pleased that Lopez had neither denied the accusation nor knew Laurel's true connection with NCIS.

"Do I?" Lopez asked, stiffening, "Why is that? Can't we deal with this without leaving Austin? Surely, the mighty American Navy can—"

"Laurel is based out of New Orleans," Percy interrupted, "so the local office is handling the investigation."

"That being said, Mr. Lopez," she continued, "you can either come along nicely, or just come along."

A tiny smile appeared on Lopez's mouth, "Are you giving me a choice?"

~*0*~

Loretta and an assistant got out of their car cautiously, greatly disturbed to see that only Brody's car in the driveway. Where was Dwayne? Where was Christopher? Where was Sonja? Someone else should be here by now!

Shaking her head so that, despite these concerns, she could do her job, she headed for the doorway. Still, her hand slid into her pocket to find her phone.

As they walked to the door, she mentally checked off all the possible reasons for no one else to be on scene. She had the right address. She remembered that Dwayne was at the safe house. But Christopher and Sonja? She couldn't account for their absence.

Then again, as a medical examiner, it wasn't her responsibility to know their whereabouts at every moment of the day.

Upon reaching the house, she peered inside and, despite all her years of working crime scenes, she was nearly knocked to her knees.

"Max," she said, trying to keep her voice steady as her heartbeat increasing dramatically, "I need you to first, call 911 and, second, call Dwayne and tell him what has happened. I've going to see if anything can be done for Merri."

"What about her?" Max asked, nodding at the dead Petty Officer as he pulled out his phone.

"We'll deal with her once Merri is settled," Loretta answered, businesslike; she was unwilling to elaborate on just what she meant by that.

Kneeling down, Loretta entered into her own little world, becoming completely unconscious to the possibility of threats to her own life. Finding that Brody still had a weak pulse, she pushed herself even harder to keep her friend alive.

Minutes later, she was relieved to hear sirens wailing down the street.

"Hang in there, Merri," she whispered, "Hang in there."

~*0*~

"Why don't we take a break from this?" Linda said, closing the crossword puzzle book before Pride could respond.

"Aren't you having fun?" he asked.

"Oh, I have plenty of fun with you, Dwayne," she answered, "But we were married for over twenty years. I need more than fun and games."

"You gave me the impression that you didn't want to talk about what's left of us.

"I didn't," she admitted, "but now I do." She paused, searching his confused face, then tried to clarify herself, "I mean, being here, with you and Laurel, reminds me of all the good times that we had together and I-I keep wondering if there could be a way to get back there." She paused again, looking quizzical, "It seems crazy not to try while we're stuck here together—doesn't it?

Pride's heart soared with hope and happiness. Maybe, just maybe, they could work things out while they were here!

"I think so," he answered, placing his hand over hers, "And I think that we can make whatever we want too out of this." He smiled hopefully, letting what was in his heart reflect on his face, "And I, for one, will be the happiest guy in the world if you'd take me back."

"There's a lot to work out," she cautiously reminded him.

"I know. I'm ready for it."

"Are you?"

"Whatever it takes, Linda."

Suddenly his phone rang and he visibly winced; his job was part of her reason for their divorce.

"Take it," she waved him away, staring hard at the table; he could tell that the timing couldn't be worse. " _Go_ , Dwayne," she said, looking astonished when he let it ring a second time, "It's probably got something to do with our case."

He scowled as he got up from the table, pulled out his phone, and retreated to the far side of the room, "Pride?"

After listening for a minute, he slumped against the wall, his face turning gray.

" _What is it_?" Linda cried, jumping to her feet.

"Brody…"

* * *

 **Author's Note** : This chapter is a slight deviation from my original plot, but upon hearing that Zoe McLellan wouldn't be returning for the upcoming Season 3, I simply had to pay homage to Brody. Since I can't get it out of my head that the show stabbed her in the back, I decided to write a literal interpretation. I don't know exactly how I'll proceed with this subplot.


	5. Chapter 5

"Well, Mr. Lopez," Percy said, glancing into the backseat as she and Lasalle pulled out of the parking lot of his corporate headquarters, "You've got a lot of explaining to do now."

Lopez, brooding, ignored her; he couldn't remember the last time that he'd lost a fight and the fact that one of his opponents was a girl made it a thousand times worse.

"Yeah," Lasalle agreed, shooting the bullish man a withering glare in the rearview mirror, "We came to look into Laurel Pride's assault, and then you go and assault us." He paused to make sure that Lopez was listening, then glanced at Percy, "Dare I say, that was a dumb move?"

"You may," she answered, nodding without the hint of a smile.

Suddenly, Lasalle's phone beeped and he grabbed it, noting that Pride had already called several times. He was anxious to let his boss know that they had Laurel's attacker in custody and he was sorely tempted to put Pride on speakerphone so Lopez could hear what he had to say.

"We've got him," he said, by way of answering then fell silent, his satisfied expression rapidly grew taut and drained of color, " _What the-_ "

" _What is it_?" Percy asked, alarmed; she hadn't seen him look like that since Savannah was murdered. She was practically squirming on pins and needles by the time he hung up.

"Marla is dead," he informed her darkly, gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his fingers turned white, "And…" he continued, his words catching briefly, "Brody was stabbed in the back when she went to the house."

" _Lasalle_! _What_?" she gasped, almost coming out of her seat in surprise, "Is she alright?"

"Don't know; Miss Loretta found her," he answered; his mouth twisting into a snarl as he looked into his rearview mirror, "All I know is that _he's_ responsible."

"Easy," she warned, reading the familiar glint in his eyes, "Lasalle, _don't_."

" _What do you want he to do?"_ he exploded, slamming on his breaks and sending Lopez's bulk into the back of the front seat, "Marla, Brody, We both know he did it."

" _Laurel_ ," Percy implored softly, playing the only card that she knew would work, "You've gotta let Pride…"

Lasalle gritted his teeth and pushed his feelings aside, wordlessly conceding that she was right. When he stomped on the gas, Lopez flew backwards.

Percy rolled her eyes and shook her head but remained silent.

* * *

Pride sat on the couch for a long time after hanging up the phone, his head hanging in misery and shame. Now that he'd gotten ahold of his team, he allowed his strong leader mentality to ebb slightly and was quickly swamped by the implications of what had happened.

This is my fault, he berated himself silently, I shouldn't have sent her there alone. I should have requested backup from Belle Chasse to help her. It's against regulations to go out alone anyway. What will I tell her mother? I can't justify what I've done. She has already lost one child and now she could lose another.

He felt Linda wrap a comforting arm around his shoulder, but ignored it until she whispered in his ear, "Talk to me, Dwayne."

"Brody…" he managed to choke out after another minute, unable to disobey the tone in his ex-wife's voice.

Linda gently massaged his back for a few minutes, even as her heart pounded with growing anxiety, waiting for him to finish. Finally, she took his face in her hands and prompted him again.

"What happened, Dwayne?"

Pulling away from her, he covered his face with his hands, before explaining miserably, "Lasalle and Percy found evidence that Lopez might be involved in a human trafficking ring that NCIS helped break up a couple of years ago. They were the most dangerous group that I've ever dealt with so we sent Brody over to check on a surviving witness...just to be safe, I thought…"

He paused, setting his teeth as images from the old case flashed through his mind; he didn't want to talk about this.

"Dwayne?" she prompted him again, hoping that her voice didn't reveal the growing horror that she felt at having brought Laurel so close to such a thing, "What happened?"

"When she got there," Pride continued, his voice growing hard as rage began to replace his anguish, "She found our witness hanging from a ceiling fan and then someone stabbed her in the back." His voice cracked a little as he finished, "This is my fault, Linda; I shouldn't have let her go there alone."

Linda was stunned. Brody was hurt? It _couldn't_ be!

"Is she...?" she asked, not daring to finish the sentence.

"Not when Loretta's assistant called," he answered, his tone a mixture of worry and hope, "I haven't heard since; she's in surgery now."

"Loretta has an assistant?"

"He's an intern. I don't know how long he'll be there. This is his first case."

'That's a heck of an introduction."

Yeah, I can't imagine how Sebastian must feel, having not been there to help. Do you know that he asked Brody out recently?

"No! Really? Oh, wow! I had no idea, " Linda was shocked and she almost let herself smile before adding firmly, "Well, if Brody made it into surgery than she has a chance. She's tough; she can pull through, Dwayne."

Suddenly his phone beeped again, interrupting them. Seeing that it was Loretta, he barked gruffly, "How is she?"

After a few minutes of fast conversation, he sagged back onto the couch in relief and Linda smiled.

* * *

Lasalle slowed the car as they approached a gas station near the Texas-Louisiana border, aggravated by the fact that Lopez was still able to throw all his weight around in the little rental car despite being handcuffed and shackled.

"Next time we get a police escort," he whispered to Percy.

She snorted in reply, "What do you call us?"

"Suckers," he mouthed silently.

"You know you wouldn't have it any other way," she replied softly.

He nodded seriously, "Only for Pride."

"You can't do this!" Lopez howled, interrupting them from the backseat, "I'll sue both of you for everything that you're worth! I demand to make a phone call! When tell my secretary what you're doing you're gonna pay. I know people! You can't-"

Percy gave him a look that suggested boredom, "Why can't you just chillout back there?"

"You'd better have good lawyers," he continued arguing, narrowing his eyes and trying to wrestle his hands free from behind his back.

 _You'd_ better have a good lawyer too, Lasalle though, pressing his lips together to keep himself in check. It was only for Pride's sake that this guy was still alive right now.

"Why don't we take a break?" he asked Percy, nodding at the gas station..

"Can we leave him in a ditch first?"

"Unfortunately, no, but don't worry, I've got him," Lasalle answered, indicating his NCIS weapon, "This place is perfect because it has outdoor bathrooms." He cut his eyes towards the trunk and nodded, whispering softly, "You scurry back there and send that digital evidence that we collected to Patton while I look after him."

Percy nodded while pushing open the door with her foot, "I'm scurrying!" It took her less than ten minutes.

"You don't mess around, do ya?" Lasalle said, grinning from ear to ear when he returned.

"Nope," she replied anxiously, nodding at the road, "Let's get a move on."

"Yes, ma'am," he acknowledged, putting the car in gear, still grinning, "We should be home in a couple of hours."

"Any news?" she asked, intrigued by his suddenly bright mood.

""Yes, ma'am. Pride called while Lopez here was using the head. Brody's out of surgery; it looks like she's gonna be okay."

"Thank God!" Percy sighed with relief.

* * *

"What's going on?" Laurel asked, coming into the room to find her parents wrapped in each other's arms; she hadn't seen that in so long time that it genuinely surprised her.

"Come here, sweetheart," Pride said, motioning with his hand, "You done with your paper yet?"

"Yeah," she answered, throwing him a lopsided smile, "But, I have to say, it got mighty quiet in here." She grinned, "Sometimes I prefer the spontaneous breakout of Tiger Rag when I'm thinking too hard."

Pride smiled gently and chuckled, allowing his daughter's presence to complete his happiness before getting down to the delicate business of telling her what had happened over the last few hours.

"Come sit with us, honey," he said seriously, motioning with his hand.

"What is it, dad?" she asked, her brightness disappearing in a flash.

"Honey," he began, gently taking her hands and squeezing them, as if she was a little girl again "Brody got hurt today. It was bad."

Laurel's breath caught in her throat and her face paled. "Wh-what happened?" she asked, confused; Brody had always been something of an older sister to her.

"But Loretta just called," Linda added, moving to the other side of the couch to massage her daughter's shoulders, "She is out of surgery and it looks like she's gonna be fine." She breathed a sigh of relief, "It's a miracle."

" _What happened_?" Laurel repeated, more forcefully.

Linda's face darkened with shame, "Sh-she-"

Pride interrupted with a small shake of his head, "She was following a lead on our case. Lopez may have been involved in something more terrible than any of us knew."

* * *

 **Author's Notes** : Sorry about the long delay in posting. I was actually gunning for an update just before the season premiere. Oops, right? I just lost my muse for this story for a while. Then, once I got it back, I had to prepare for Hurricane Matthew. My area ended up being fine.

I decided to give some explanation about Loretta's assistant because I can't, for the life of me, remember why I didn't have Sebastian with her when they found Brody.

Also, because Laurel goes to LSU, I thought it would be appropriate to note the passing of their live tiger mascot, Mike VI, earlier this week. I'm sure their next home opponent will be at least slightly relieved to not be greeted a live Bayou Bengal when they come out of the visitor's locker room! Just wait until Mike VII shows up. Grr. Also, Tiger Rag is one of LSU's fight songs.

So, how do you like the new girl? Do you think the show will ship her with anyone or not? I have to say, I'm in the "not" camp right now, but we'll see what they do.


	6. Chapter 6

Feeling a sense of accomplishment, even though they knew that the investigation was just beginning, Lasalle and Percy almost heaved sighs of relief as their rental rolled to a stop in front of headquarters.

Saying nothing, she gave him an anxious look, asking if he'd be alright while she left to relieve Pride at the safe house so that he could return.

"I got this," Lasalle answered.

"Can I help?" a friendly, but serious, female voice asked from outside his driver's side window.

Lasalle's head whipped around to meet a tall dark brunette's face, just on the other side of the door.

"What the—?" he snapped, reflexively reaching for his weapon.

"Easy, easy, I'm Tammy Gregorio," the woman said, willingly supplying a badge for them to scrutinize, "FBI."

"Gregorio," Percy murmured, eying the badge warily, "What does the FBI want here?"

"We want Lopez," Gregorio answered simply, "Of course, I wouldn't mind knowing why you guys picked him up in the first place too. You kinda got in the way of our investigation when you dragged him out of Austin this morning. Lopez is a prime suspected in—"

"We know all about his human trafficking ring," Lasalle interrupted tersely, his heart pounding hard; a jurisdiction battle with the FBI was the last thing that they needed! "We worked with you guys before to bring down a cell here in NOLA a couple of years ago, when they had a petty officer in their sights."

"My _alleged_ human trafficking ring," Lopez snapped, "I haven't been changed with anything!"

" _Shut up_!" the three agents reflexively barked in unison.

"I'd like to talk with that petty officer then," Gregorio continued, "I'm kinda new to the investigation, but I know that the syndicate hasn't been known to leave women alive."

"Yeah, we know," Lasalle's face darkened, "Petty Officer Marla Mann was one of the few that got away but, out of an abundance of caution after we stumbled on new evidence this morning, we had an agent check on her. She found Marla hanging from her own ceiling fan."

"I'd like to talk to your agent then," Gregorio stated, unfazed. Nodding towards Lopez, she added, "But first things first; he is coming with me. As far as the FBI is concerned, NCIS doesn't have any business with Mr. Lopez."

"They don't!" Lopez broke in, "They _abducted_ me! I want to press charges!"

" _Shut up_!" the three agents snapped again.

"We want to talk to Brody too," Percy growled, returning to Gregorio's question, "But she was stabbed in the back while she was at the petty officer's residence and just got out of surgery a few hours ago. We just got back into town."

"I know you did," Gregorio replied. After an awkward pause, she added, "But that doesn't tell me why you want Lopez, if you just found the new evidence at his headquarters, why'd you go there in the first place? And, where's your supervisor? Shouldn't he be here?"

"I'm going to pick him up now," Percy answered, "We picked up Lopez for questioning in another matter."

"I see." Gregorio paused again, "Well, I'm willing to wait for him. I want to ask him some questions; my supervisor will too."

"I'm sure that he will," Lasalle replied sarcastically; gritting his teeth, thinking about how annoying Raymond Isner was.

"You two better not go anywhere either," Gregorio continued, giving them a look.

"Let me guess," Lasalle said, "Isner will want to talk to us too?"

Gregorio nodded slowly, saying nothing.

"Well," Lasalle said, sarcasm still dripping from his voice, "since you're gonna be around for a little while and Percy needs to pick up Pride, why don't you make yourself useful and help me get Mr. Lopez into our interrogation room?"

"I'd be happy too,"

* * *

"Great," Percy muttered, as she sped towards the safe house, having just called Pride to fill him in on the latest, "Just great. The _FBI_ wants Lopez." She shook her head and sighed in frustration.

At her quiet knock, Pride opened the door and practically pulled her inside.

"This doesn't change anything," he stated, before she could say anything, "We're gonna be fine. Just look after my girls, Sonja; I'll take care of the FBI."

You'd better, Percy thought glumly; first Brody, now the FBI.

"It'll be alright, Sonja," Linda said, looping an arm around the shorter woman's shoulders as the door closed behind her ex-husband, "Dwayne has dealt with the FBI before."

Percy threw her the best smile that she had and was trying to relax when Laurel appeared in the hallway, "Has dad left?"

"Just," Linda answered.

Percy's face lit up, "Laurel! Great to see you! You feeling better?"

"I am; the bad makeup job is fading too."

"Good! We're gonna see to it that Lopez never does cosmetics again."

"I'm glad," Linda murmured softly, her face darkening with guilt.

* * *

As Pride pulled into headquarters, his easy grip on the steering wheel began tightening, turning his knuckles white. Ever since Lasalle had told him about the evidence on Lopez's computer, he'd had a hunch that Lopez's interest in Linda had more to do with grooming Laurel as the syndicate's next victim than any interest in his ex-wife.

Pride didn't know what he'd do when he saw the oil tycoon again!

Strolling purposely into the main room with a grim expression on his face and his fists clenched, he almost ran into Gregorio.

"You must be Pride," she stated flatly, giving him an up and down onceover; her expression remaining neutral.

"I am. And you are?"

"Tammy Gregorio. FBI. Your people nabbed our man."

"We had a reason," Pride answered shortly, his voice gruffly businesslike.

"Lopez was dating a woman with a college age daughter but, other than that, he seems to be a workaholic," Gregorio started, thinking about the recent surveillance that the FBI had conducted, "Neither of them are Navy; what's NCIS got on him?"

"The daughter is a dependent," Pride answered tersely, "Came home with bruises. We were asked to take a look. Her mother is divorced."

Gregorio's eyes widen and she almost swore, "A _dependant_?" She frowned and muttered, half to herself, "The things that you learn when you're a replacement on a case."

"I've got an assault charge to look into," Pride continued, ignoring her; the tiniest hint of anger glimmering in his eyes momentarily exposed his feelings about Lopez.

"Okay," Gregorio answered slowly, "How about I give you a couple hours, then you turn Lopez and any information that you can get out of him over to the FBI?"

"That'll be fine," Pride assented, smothering his annoyance, "as long as you keep me in the loop about what's happening."

Gregorio winced, not wanting a jurisdiction argument. She sidestepped him smoothly, "I want to talk to your agent in the hospital too."

"I doubt that'll be a problem," Pride consented, not missing that she'd avoided his question; he could always raise hell with Isner to get what he wanted, "As long as the docs okay it. Brody is a couple hours this side of surgery." He frowned, "I'll send Lasalle with you. He'll make your sudden appearance go over more smoothly."

"Thanks," she acknowledged with a sigh; an NCIS agent hanging around was the last thing that she wanted. After a pause, she added, "Now, about Lopez's girlfriend and her daughter-do you know where they are?." She blushed, "We, ah, kinda lost track of them in the last few days."

"I do," Pride answered, keeping his smug smile to a minimum.

"I'd like to talk to them," Gregorio stated.

A dark shadow instantly clouded Pride's face, "We'll talk about that _after_ I'm assured that Lopez isn't a threat to them."

"Why not after I talk to your agent? While I wait to collect Lopez. It'll save time."

"Out of the question," Pride snapped.

Gregorio raised her eyebrows in surprise, "O-kay."

"They're in a safe house." Pride explained, his tone quieter, "I'm not bringing them here until Lopez is locked up."

Gregorio sighed; there'd be no getting around this guy. She handed him her card, "Alright, fine. Call me in two hours."

"You gonna have a stopwatch running?" Pride asked, slightly sarcastic.

"You know it."

"It's been a pleasure doing business with you then."

"The pleasure is all mine," Gregorio put on a twisted smile then walked around him and out the door.

Pride watched her leave then shook his head and headed towards the interrogation room. The burning anger that he'd shoved down in front of the FBI agent quickly returned.

*~0~*

Sebastian knocked gently on Brody's ICU door, then opened it a crack and peered inside.

"Hey, Sebastian!" Brody said, smiling wearily, "Sorry that I stood you up for our date tonight."

Presenting her with the small bouquet that he'd been hiding behind his back, Sebastian shook his head, "You didn't stand me up, Merri. Standing me up would be if you didn't show up." He paused, a strange expression crossing his face, "I mean standing me up would mean that you didn't have a good excuse for not coming, which you clearly did—do—so you couldn't have stood me up. I mean, you didn't stand me up, Merri."

Brody smiled slightly, "I get it, Sebastian. Thank."

He sighed and she changed the subject, "Let me see my flowers."

"Oh, right," he stepped forward and placed them beside her bed.

"Chrysanthemums," she said, looking them over, "are one of my favorite flowers."

"I'm glad," Sebastian said, "but, what I'm _really_ glad about is that you're okay, Merri." He swallowed hard, "I don't know what I'd do if you'd been killed today."

His face reddened, "I mean, the _team_ wouldn't know what to do. But, I just really care about you. But, I know the _whole team_ really cares about you. I mean, Lasalle and Percy are probably worried sick right now. Then again, Pride probably already called them and said you were fine, but that wouldn't stop them from worrying about you because it hasn't stopped _me_ from worrying about you. I mean—"

"It's okay, Sebastian," Brody interrupted, holding up a hand, "I get it."

"Right, sorry," he changed the subject, "Can I get you anything?"

"Not right now," she answered, "Just sit with me. Loretta went to see if she could scare up something more palatable than hospital food."

Sebastian grinned, "Yeah, hospital food is pretty gross."

"The worst."

"Just be careful. They make you eat that nasty stuff for a reason."

"I got it, Sebastian."

Suddenly, the room phone rang and Sebastian grabbed it. He listened for a minute, his expression like a stone, and then hung up.

"That was Lasalle," he told her, looking at her questioningly, "He said that an FBI agent wants to talk to you; they're coming over now."

* * *

 **Author's Note** : **Annemarie** : Thanks for the review! I'm glad that you're enjoying my story.

So what is your opinion of Gregorio on the show? I just had to add her into this chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

Linda paced the front hall as if she was a caged animal; her face a panorama of all the emotions that she'd suppressed for years.

"Pride will be alright," Percy assured her, wondering if her words meant anything; Linda knew him better than anyone!

"Oh, I know," she replied, "I know. It's just that the last couple of days have been _really nice_ and now-"

Stopping abruptly, she clamped her mouth shut and headed down the hall,"Sorry...Maybe I'll just go see what Laurel is up too."

"Hi, baby," she murmured, finding her daughter in the living room, "I'm sorry that I got you mixed up in all this."

"Well, you're not getting rid of me," Laurel teased, "if that's what you mean."

"Oh, no," Linda smiled weakly, laughing and choking up at the same time, "I don't mean that, but I appreciate you saying it."

"I feel more nervous now than I did while dad was here," Laurel admitted, shuddering, "All I can think about is Angelo's face. He was so _angry_!"

"Don't worry about your father," Linda ordered tensely; Laurel hadn't ever filled her in on the details of what had happened.

"I agree," Percy said, "Pride is the last guy that you need to worry about."

Laurel shook her head, frowning deeply, "I know, but I've just got this feeling..."

*~0~*

Forcing aside a nagging feeling that he should've kept Lasalle at the office as a matter of procedure instead of sending him out with Gregorio, Pride entered the interrogation room looking like someone who was spoiling for a fight.

"We meet again," he said venomously, hating the FBI for staying his hand.

"Hello," Lopez answered cautiously, greatly surprised to see Pride; he tried turning his wrists but the cuffs held fast, "Do you know what time it is?"

"That doesn't matter to you," Pride answered coldly, "You'll be here as long as I want."

"If you say so," Lopez shrugged indifferently "So, I guess that you're with NCIS?"

"Dwayne Pride," Pride introduced himself, "Special agent in charge."

"I didn't think that Laurel was the kind of girl to press charges over a little discipline," Lopez started to explain, "She was being mouthy and—"

That was as far as he got before Pride slammed his head into the table,

" _Keep your filthy hands off my daughter_!" he snapped viciously.

But the conversation stopped when a tremendous crash shook the building.

Reeling from the shock, both men had the air knocked from their lungs, but Pride regained control just a little faster and after reassuring himself that Lopez wasn't going anywhere, he spun around and raced down the hall at a stealthier run, all the while cursing the fact that he wasn't armed, Peeking around the corner, he saw a truck idling inside a large hole in the wall and three huge men ransacking their desks.

Adrenaline raced through his body as he pulled out his phone and left Lasalle a text message.

Situation at headquarters. Return immediately. No sirens.

*~0~*

Lasalle's phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out while slowing for a stop sign.

"It's Pride." he said, answering Gregorio's questioning look.

"Why doesn't he just call?" she asked.

He glared at her for a moment before reading the message, then accelerated while doing a hard u-turn.

" _Hey_!" Gregorio snapped, grabbing the dashboard as the momentum slung her forward, " _What do you think you're doing?"_

"Got a situation at the office," he answered tersely, mashing the accelerator to the floor.

"Can't he take care of it himself?" she asked, exasperated.

"He wouldn't call if he could," he answered, "Pride doesn't do that."

"Alright," she shrugged.

Lasalle's phone buzzed again. Pride's message read, Three Syndicate men. I'm unharmed.

Lasalle swore softly; this wasn't good. He wasn't armed either.

"You armed?" he asked.

"Of course," she answered loftily, her eyebrows arching upward, "Always am." Reading between the lines, she asked, "What, you're not?"

"I was taking you to the hospital to meet Brody!" he snapped.

She rolled her eyes, "People are _so backwards_ down here."

"Nah, you just gotta get out more," he said, a tiny smile appearing for just a moment.

Then he slung them around a curve and Gregorio swore as she threw her hands up in time to avoid hitting the dashboard again, "You need to learn how to drive!"

"You'd do the same thing if it was somebody that you cared about," he answered, "You got a knife I can barrow?"

"I'm not a chef."

"Look, I need your help right, alright? If something happens to Pride—"

"Alright, alright," she acquiesced, holding up her hands, "I do have a knife. You take my gun though."

"Thanks."

"I just hope that we're not too late."

"We better not be."

*~0~*

Lopez smiled broadly as he listened to the ransacking and sat back to wait; his men would have him out of here in a few minutes. As he waited, he mulled over what he'd learned during his brief visit with Dwayne Pride.

Laurel's father, he thought, then chuckled and mused softly, "Linda, you lied to me."

Her ex was obviously not a deadbeat dad!

But this realization troubled him. Why had she lied when he'd questioned her about her past? Did she suspect something was off? If so, what had tipped her off?

Suddenly, the door flew off its hinges and his men sauntered in, interrupting his thoughts.

"Hey, boss."

"It's about time," Lopez smiled coldly, "Hooks, Crooks, and Scarface; my favorites."

They stiffened to attention, his tone reminding them that he wasn't someone to let your guard down around.

"Your girl told us that you'd probably be here," Hooks answered, shrugging nonchalantly, as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"Maybe I won't beat her so hard for the next couple of weeks," Lopez nodded and laughed, thinking of his secretary. Cocking his head, he asked, "What'd you do with the agent?"

"What agent?" they asked together.

Lopez swore under his breath, "You let him get away? _You fools_!"

"We didn't see anyone, boss," Scarface babbled, "We-"

Lopez silenced him with a murderous glare, "Scarface, Scarface, you didn't look for guards? Perhaps, you're not cut out for this kind of work after all." He jerked his arms forward, hoping to break the cuffs with brute strength, "Maybe I should _cut you out_ , hm?"

But the cuffs didn't break and, after a brief pause of shock, the three henchmen actually relaxed.

Lopez glared at them in fury; he liked it when his employees were afraid of him.

*~0~*

While her daughter, sat, stood, or just fidgeted listlessly, Linda paced the room, vigorously rubbing the goose bumps on her arms.

They were driving Percy crazy, but how could she ask them to stop?

Finally, Linda noticed her discomfort and forced a smile.

"He'll be fine," she said, trying to take control of the situation, "I know him better than anyone and I know that he'll be fine."

Walking over to stand next to Percy, she whispered softly, "After Dwayne and I married, I paced all night the first time he was called out on a case."

Snorting softly, she remembered the past and continued, "I learned to live with it at first and things were actually really good." Glancing at her daughter, who was flipping through a magazine, trying to pretend as if she wasn't listening, she said, "Then Laurel came along and I had to learn how to not go crazy all over again." She bit her lip, "It was harder; I was scared to be a single mom."

Sighing, she finished, "When I divorced him, I thought that I'd finally find some peace at night." Shaking her head, she stared at Percy with haunted eyes, "But all I did was let myself forget what a good man he is."

* * *

 **Author's Notes** : First off, I want to apologize profusely for this absurdly delayed update! Call it life.

Random thought: It's hard to write Gregorio as if she is still new to the scene!

So, where is Pride...any guesses?


	8. Chapter 8

Ducking behind the counter in the kitchen as Lopez and his henchmen jogged past, Pride exhaled softly when they didn't bother to look inside. They were more focused on getting away.

Now, if only he had a weapon...

Vaguely wondering what Lasalle and Gregorio were planning to do, his mind was racing though some possible exit plans for himself when Lopez's voice caught his attention.

"Linda lied to me; the cop is her ex. We need to find her, eliminate her, and get the girl out of the country _fast_."

"The ship won't be in port until tomorrow night," Hooks noted methodically, "That gives us less than thirty-six hours, boss."

"Don't take that long!" Lopez snapped, whirling on them, "I said _fast_!" He paused, almost swearing, as his barrel chest heaved up in down with rage, realizing that their escape had been stymied by the ship's schedule, "And, let me be clear, I consider this _personal_. If you fail me…" He drew his finger across his throat.

"Don't worry, boss," Crooks spoke up, "We've got your back."

"Yeah," Hooks added, "We wouldn't be where we are today if you hadn't helped us out when we were kids."

"I'm glad you remember that."

"Where do we met up, boss?" Scarface asked.

"Have Laurel at the dock to met the ship. We'll be in state rooms, she'll be with the cargo."

"You got it, boss."

Lopez raised his eyebrows, "You sound so confident, Scarface. Do you know where they are?"

"I'm sure they're somewhere in town," he answered, shrugging, "We'll use our old contacts at city hall to find them."

"Well, you'd better _hurry_. You guys are like sons to me; I wouldn't want to have to kill you."

"Sure thing, boss."

As they gunned the engine and sped away with screeching tires, Pride peeked around the corner, his heart pounding in his ears. He felt like his worst nightmare was coming true.

*~0~*

As Lasalle and Gregorio raced stealthily down the street on foot they were ever alert to meeting the bad guys.

"We gotta find King," he said anxiously, "before we take those guys out."

"Is that how it's gonna be then?" she asked sweetly, throwing him a lofty sideways glance, "What if we run into them first? Should I tell them to wait while we find your guy and _then_ arrest them?"

"Look, I need your help, not your wisecracks, alright? I gotta know that he's alright."

"Christopher."

Pride's voice sounded like it was right beside him, stopping Lasalle in his tracks.

"King, King," he whispered urgently, looking left and right like a fugitive, "Where are you?"

"Right behind you," Pride answered, stepping out of the hedge, a slight smirk making his mouth curl upward.

Lasalle automatically cut his eyes towards Gregorio, assuming that she'd be laughing, and wasn't disappointed.

"Alright, already," he said, unable to stop a sheepishly grin from appearing; he didn't mind being the butt of a joke when he deserved it.

"Let's get undercover and I'll fill you in on what happened," Pride's voice was soft and urgent, instantly refocusing them, "Things will get real bad, real fast if we don't get them in custody." He handed Lasalle his gun, "Give Gregorio her gun, Christopher. Lopez and his men—that's Hooks, Crooks, and Scarface—headed out fast so I got to our file cabinet."

Lasalle's relief was evident, "I'm glad we all have some lead now." Then his smile turned ironic, "Those are some names, King."

Pride nodded, smiling grimly. Then he motioned towards the bushes.

* * *

Unable to do anything that required concentration and planning, the three safe house occupants had settled into a game of "Go Fish" when Percy's phone buzzed in her pocket.

"Thanks for the heads up, Pride," she said, a few minute later, feeling punched in the gut, "We're fine here and I _promise_ to keep it that way!"

"Pride said that Lopez's men showed up at headquarters." she said, looking tense.

"Everyone is fine," she continued quickly but cautiously, wanting to level with them, but not frighten them, " _but_ he said they mentioned something about having contacts at city hall that'll tell them where we are."

Frowning, she shook her head, "I _can't_ believe _that-but_ , I do believe Pride."

"Did Dwayne say what he is going to do?" Linda asked hoarsely, panic rising within her.

"Just something about an old friend who's was a JAG and now she's in the DA's office," Percy shook her head, not knowing the connection.

Linda raised her eyebrows, "That would be Rita…"

"Who?" Laurel asked.

"Rita Devereaux," Linda repeated, "She was his girlfriend when I first met him, but they broke up a couple months later and…the rest is history."

"I'd heard that she'd moved back to town," she added, "but I didn't think that _he_ had."

"Pride doesn't miss anything," Percy reminded her.

"Yeah, you're right. Somehow...I'd forgotten that."

"What should _we_ do?" Laurel asked, feeling odd about this line of conversation.

"Sit tight," Percy answered, "Pride is going to talk to Rita now and Lasalle and an FBI chick that we met at headquarters when we brought Lopez in are following the goons." She smiled, hoping to reassure them.

"Okay," Laurel answered, sounding very unsure.

*~0~*

Pride took the steps at city hall three at a time, a dark threatening look in his eyes coloring his perspective on everything.

"Rita!" he called, grinning suddenly, "Rita!" He waved urgently to get her attention, surprised that seeing her had made him feel just a little bit better.

She looked up startled, then quickly tried to balanced a pile of folders that was sliding out of her arms.

Pride reached out to steady the pile as he closed in on her and when their eyes finally met, they burst out laughing.

"Dwayne Pride!" she said, grinning as he leaned in to peck her on the cheek, "I was wondering when I might run into you!"

"I should've dropped by sooner," he admitted, "but I'm glad you're back in town."

She smiled tightly, correctly reading his tone "You mean that you're glad to have another friend in the DA's office?"

"Do not!" he protested, his face reddening, "but, ah, yeah, it does help…"

"And he's back…"

"Come on. Let's talk somewhere quieter."

Soon they were speeding along the highway in his car, threading their way through rush hour traffic and he was explaining his problem.

"So," he finished. "Do you know of _anyone_ who would snitch about the location?"

She was quiet for several minutes, mulling over her choices; his predicament sickened her, "I'm sorry, Dwayne, not off the top of my head." She frowned sympathetically, " _But_ , if you take me back to the office, I'll do some _fast_ digging."

He instantly moved into a turn lane, "You're as good as gold, Rita. I appreciate this."

They didn't speak on the ride back, both lost in thought, but he startled her as she opened the door.

" _Whoa_ , _whoa_ , _wait_!" He put his hand on her shoulder.

"What is it?"

"Lasalle's truck," he nodded towards it.

"Who?"

"One of my people. He is trailing Lopez and his men with a Gregorio from the FBI."

"Then they're here…?"

"Yeah, stay in the car," his smile was dangerous, "I'll see if I can catch them red handed."

She knew it was futile to ask, but she did anyway. "Is there anything I can do?"

He shook his head vehemently, his face draining of color, " _Stay here and stay down-_ just in case."

* * *

 **Author's Notes** : Okay, I'm sorry about the horribly long delay. I don't even know how long it's been since I updated this story so I can't tell you exactly what all it entails. Basically, it's life that's kept me away. I think that's the most understandable thing I can give you.

So, who loves the Pride/Rita storyline as much as I do? I'm glad that he has found someone! Of course, I'm not sure how she'll factor into _this_ story, but I wanted to give her at least a cameo to pay homage to the show. The bit about the contacts at city hall was third season salute too. The _best_ yet, in my opinion!


	9. Chapter 9

Pride crossed the parking lot at a trot, his eyes darting everywhere in search of Lasalle and Gregorio. He didn't see them but there were plenty of civilians around and he cursed his luck, furious that he'd placed Rita in danger.

Pausing briefly behind a row of hedges, he was making a last scan for his partners when the doors opened and Lopez's three henchmen came out backwards, their hands in the air, Lasalle and Gregorio holding them at gunpoint.

"Nice work, you two," Pride said, mounting the steps three at a time to join them, his gun leveled.

Got them on a wire," Gregorio stated, allowing herself the tiniest of smiles.

"Chatting with?"

"You're truly," Lasalle answered darkly.

" _Mayor Hamilton_?" Pride's grip reflectively tightened on his gun.

"Yep."

"So, where is he?"

"Believe it or not, he had his _lawyer_ with him during the conversation," Lasalle spat angrily, as he handcuffed the three men, "Some _technical_ thing." His eyes flashed, "What's up with that?"

"I'm gonna get Isler to let me investigate that lawyer," Gregorio added, "Stone, was that his name?"

"Yeah."

Pride's face twisted with rage. This case was personal to him; setbacks were intolerable.

"There's no time for that right now, Gregorio; we've got to end this _today_."

~*0*~

Sebastian scowled as he looked out of Brody's hospital window, wondering for the hundredth time what had happened to Lasalle and the FBI girl.

When the phone rang, he spun around to grab it.

"Hello?" Brody grinned when she practically stole the phone out of his hand, "Hey, Lasalle! Yeah, I'm peachy—can't wait to bust out of here though. Where are you? We thought—"

She fell silent, leaving Sebastian to read her expressions, his heart racing a mile a minute with curiosity.

"What is it? What happened?" he was rabid for information by the time she hung up.

" _Whew, wow_ ," she muttered, for the moment ignoring him, " _Thank goodness_ , they're all safe."

" _What happened_?" he barked, " _Come on, Merri_!"

"Pride was interrogating Lopez when three of his goons showed up. Headquarters got totally trashed but Pride made it out okay."

"Obviously," she went on, "Lasalle and Gregorio—that's the FBI chick—went back to help. Everyone is okay _and_ they caught the goons at city hall—talking with none other than the _honorable_ Mayor Hamilton."

Sebastian's mouth dropped open.

"Unfortunately," she continued, "the Mayor's _lawyer_ was present and there was some technical thing so they couldn't arrest him," she rolled her eyes and punched her pillow, "but they're going to pick up Lopez now." Making a dark joke, she added, "I wonder if the mayor has a live-in lawyer just to keep himself out of trouble?"

Sebastian chuckled, "I'll bet he does." Then, after an awkward pause, he added, "Well, I glad their getting somewhere. I can't imagine what Pride would do if something happened to Laurel—or Linda."

"Then _don't_!" Brody shuddered, glaring at him, "It gives me the creeps just thinking about it."

He bit his lip, "Maybe, ah, maybe I should get back to the lab in case they need something. You okay?"

"Go," she waved him away, "You've got a job to do."

~*0*~

Lopez, waiting at high-end restaurant with a drink in his hand, stared coldly through a big bay window as everyone else quietly and inconspicuously slipped outside.

"Where are they?" he fumed through gritted teeth, glancing at his diamond-studded watch, " _Those idiots_!"

"Missing someone, Lopez?" Pride grinned like a shark as he plopped down on the other side of the table, his gun leveled at Lopez's chest.

The oil tycoon instinctively clambered to his feet, figuring that he wouldn't be shot at in a crowded restaurant, "Do you really want—" His words died as he scanned the room.

"Aw, gee," Gregorio said, standing behind him with her gun in his back, "as it turns out, this place isn't as popular as it was a few minutes ago."

'So, you think that you've got me?" Lopez asked them, stalling for time.

"Yeah, kinda," Lasalle came up next to Pride, gun in hand, his expression hard as stone, "We've already got your goons and, _man_ , they've been singing like canaries."

Lopez gritted his teeth, "What do you want?"

Pride answered with a grim smile, "I want to put an end to you."

* * *

Percy and Linda grew increasingly fidgety as the afternoon wore on.

"No news?" Linda asked, catching the agent scowling at her phone.

"Dwayne never texted me during a case," she went on, "It used to make me _so mad_. I'd just sit up worrying all night sometimes and never _once_ -" She frowned and shook her head, recognizing the old angst.

Percy bit her lip just in time to avoid saying something about the difference between talking to your wife and talking to your partner about a case.

"Anything from dad?" Laurel asked, appearing with a necessary interruption.

"Nope," Percy sighed.

"How's your book coming?" Linda asked.

"Fine," Laurel shrugged, "It's not all that it was cracked up to be though."

She sighed and turned back the way she'd come, "He'll call when he can." Then she paused and turned around, "Can you cook, Percy? Mom and I don't have dad's talent."

"Well, I'd like to _think_ that I've learned a thing or two from Pride" she grinning momentarily before frowning, " _but_ , seeing as I'm on duty and we have a fluid situation and all, I think that I'd better keep my nose out of the cookbook."

"I just wish he'd just _call_ ," Linda muttered, making Percy bite her lip again.

~*0*~

"I have jurisdiction over Lopez," Pride insisted to Gregorio as the three agents waited for him to be processed at NOPD headquarters. Lasalle stood along the opposite wall, arms crossed over his chest and a grin on his face, enjoying the conversation.

" _Excuse me_?" Gregorio was taken aback, "The FBI has been after this guy for years."

" _My_ people brought him in for questioning," Pride glared daggers at her.

" _They interfered_ with _my_ investigation."

"Lopez was implicated in an assault and battery case—I didn't know then, nor do I care now, that the FBI can't get their ducks in a row fast enough to save more girls from getting killed or shipped off to who-knows-where. I mean, _come on_ , the Syndicate has been operating _for years_ and you don't have enough evidence? _Give me a break_!"

"On this particular cell? Okay, fine, I won't tell you that we don't have enough evidence," she answered, angrily pressing her lips together; he'd struck a nerve.

Pride turned away, furious, then whirled back around when she spoke again.

"You act like you're too close to this case…"

" _Excuse me_?"

" _Oh, come on_! Your reaction alone confirms it." she smiled triumphantly, hoping to bait him into revealing more.

He rewarded her with stormy silence, unwilling to take the bait again.

"I'm a profiler," she admitted. "You're exhibiting all the signs; it was easy."

"Alright, fine," he admitted, "I've got a team member in the hospital, a dead victim from an old case, a wrecked headquarters, and a city— _that I love, by the way_ —under threat. Yeah, I'm taking it personal!"

"Is that all?" she asked, pointedly.

"So, have you guys decided who gets Mr. Lopez first?" an NOPD officer, interrupted them; much to Lasalle's relief.

Gregorio rolled her eyes and pointed at Pride, muttering, "Don't say the federal government never did anything for you."

Pride's eyes lit up, " _Thanks Gregorio_!" Then he sped off down the hall, leaving Lasalle and the office chuckling; they both knew him well.

Hey, Rita?" he answered his phone just as he got to the interrogation room, "I'm sorry, I can't-you _what_? _Rita…_!" Then he rolled his eyes, swore under his breath, turned, and dashed back up the hallway.

* * *

 **Author's Notes** : Ooooo, a cliffhanger after a ridiculously long delay! Ouch. Sorry about that. Well, not really. *grins evilly*

Well, anyways, I'm sorry about not updating sooner. I'll try not to let _that_ happen again. At first, I was toying around in other genres (but incidentally enough I've only posted one of those so far *eyes rolling*) Then there was that pesky hurricane and we lost power (and water) for ten days. That was great!:( Oh well, at least we made it.

Also, my biggest thanks to those anonymous reviewers who I always forget to thank! I love you guys and your feedback! **JONI** , **Santosh** , **Annemarie** , **Britt**!

So, how do you like the season 4 so far? Did you notice how they put the wrong promo up after the season premiere so the second episode wasn't what we thought it'd be and then we got the same promo two weeks in a row?

But, creepy as it was, I thought that the second episode was awesome! I'm glad Laurel got a mention, even if she didn't show up in person. At least we got to see the protective papa Pride that we all love!

So, what are everyone's hopes and dreams for this season?


	10. Chapter 10

Pride's heart was in his throat as he sped back to the courthouse, but there was a bemused smile on his face.

"Rita," he muttered, "you haven't changed a bit!"

Thinking back, he briefly let himself remember the days when they'd been a pretty hot item on the streets of New Orleans...before she'd gone off to law school and the JAG Corp and he'd gone into law enforcement and met Linda.

" _Rita_!" He saw her as he roared into the parking lot, " _What have you done now_?"

"I'll explain on the way," she answered tensely, making a beeline for his car and flinging open the passenger door, "They've taken Hamilton in for questioning. I'm sorry; I know you were just there but we've got to get back to the police station if we want to listen in."

His eyes widen, " _Taken Hamilton! What— How—_?"

" _Drive_ , Dwayne!"

"Sorry to take you away from your interrogation," she apologized again, her voice softening as he raced back up the highway, "I know you want to nail Lopez."

His eyes flashed darkly, "We will. I've got a great team and they're working it. We're just fine." He glanced at her, "Tell me about Hamilton?"

She flashed a quick smile and snorted, "Oh, that was really too easy! I can't believe _you_ didn't do it yourself when you were there earlier."

He cocked an eyebrow and his soft smile reappeared, "You stole from my playbook?"

"You could say that," she smirked, "Hamilton was exceptionally—and uncharacteristically—sloppy."

" _Rita_!" he tensed, giving her a sharp look, " _Be careful_!" Then, more gently, he added, "I want him caught, but I don't trust him."

~*0*~

"Have you heard _anything_ from Dad?" Laurel stormed back into the living room, agitation written all over her face.

"Nada," Percy shook her head and smiled sympathetically, "Sorry."

"Dang!" Laurel stomped her foot into the floor, then deflated and sighed. " _I know_ this stuff takes time and all and I've always been patient with him, but I know what Antonio can do and _I'm scared_."

"It's alright, sweetie," Linda reassured automatically, "If I know your father—"

"You always say that!" Laurel snapped, rolling her eyes, _"I_ know dad too! But I've _felt_ was Antonio does to people who get in his way!"

Linda cringed, guilt-ridden,

and was unable to stop a shuddering sob from escaping, "I'm so sorry, honey— If I could—"

"It's not your fault," Laurel grumbled, looking at the floor.

"Well, it's not yours either!" her mother insisted.

"I didn't say it was!"

"Okay, okay," Percy intervened, "I don't mean to get in the way here— _but, actually, I do_." She looked back and forth between mother and daughter, "Can I just say something here? This is _all_ on _Lopez_. _Neither_ of you is responsible. But Pride _will_ catch him. And _then_ he'll call us."

"Promise?" Laurel was sullen.

Percy hesitated for only a moment.

" _Yes_."

~*0*~

"So," Rita began, "I had a hunch that something was wrong when you and your team arrested Lopez's henchmen. Your expression was _so_ —was _so_ —well, let's just say, I think I remember you well enough to know that you weren't happy."

"That's putting it mildly," Pride muttered, another tiny smile irresistibly tugging at his mouth.

"Well, I just knew there had to be a catch. Hamilton was in the building, we know he's involved, but he wasn't in custody." She paused to glance at him, knowing that he wouldn't be thrilled with the next part, "So after you guys left, I went in to do some snooping." She cocked her head, "Sometimes, where a cop fails, a lawyer can win."

" _Rita—!_ " There was the tiniest edge in his voice.

"No, no, just wait! I made it into Hamilton's office!"

" _Rita_!" Now he was thunderstruck and almost dizzy with panic. Clutching the wheel, he forced himself to concentrate on the road.

" _What_?" she protested, "No one saw me; I'm sure of it."

And I'm sure they _did_!" he snapped, unable to stop himself. Then his voice soften to deliberate seriousness, "Rita, Hamilton has eyes everywhere. Heck, better than half the DA's office is a blood relative!"

"New Orleans is a big small town," she nodded, "I remember."

"I knew you were up to something when I got back to the car and you weren't there," he muttered, with a sigh, "I never would've left if I'd thought…"

Cringing, he didn't finish his sentence.

"I know," she whispered, consenting to his fear; she hated to think that she'd done something that unnerved him so, "I know."

"I'm gonna call Patton," he said, pulling out his phone, "and have him pull the security camera footage and take a look."

"Patton?"

"My computer specialist."

"You know you can't erase them, right?"

"Who said anything about _erasing_ them?" his head whipped towards her, scowling for a moment, "I'm just gonna ID the people around there and make sure none of them mess with you."

"Well, I appreciate it." she smiled lightly, "But, I am a big girl, you know? Don't you want to hear about what I found while I was snooping first?"

His scowl almost relaxed and he set his phone on the console between them, "Okay…"

"I found," her eyes gleamed, "a _treasure trove_ of letters and emails between the mayor and the Syndicate. As I said, Hamilton was _very_ sloppy. Everything right out on his desk or just a click or two on his computer. Even his lawyer won't be able to get him out of this one!"

" _Rita_!" he stiffened, shocked, "You didn't!"

"A little rogue, I'll admit," she consented, "but, let me finish."

"First off," she continued, "I called Isler and sent him photos." She held up her hands, "I know you want Lopez, Dwayne, but the FBI's case will have priority." She smiled sympathetically, "Especially since you're _a little_ close to this investigation…"

He bit back his first thought and gritted his teeth.

"Isler," she wrapped up her narrative, well aware that he was seething, "got me a warrant and Estes arrested him. It all went down very quickly."

"Well," he sighed, relenting, "at least things are coming together."

~*0*~

"I was hoping your boss would come,"Lopez drawled, drumming his fingers on the table as Lasalle plopped down in the chair across from him, "We were having a great conversation about his-"

"That's too bad, ain't it?" Lasalle cut him off, not wanting Gregorio to know how personal this case was for Pride; he grinned like a shark as she leaned against the door with a disinterested glare on her face.

"The FBI is letting us complete our investigation before they haul your butt off to the butchers," he continued wearing a fiendish grin, "Ain't that nice of them?"

"I already gave my statement," Lopez folded his arms over his barrel chest; his black eyes narrowed and he heaved a sigh, as if bored.

"And I found it very incomplete," Lasalle snapped, "Besides, something else came up since you talked to Pride."

" _Like what_?" Lopez fringed exasperation.

"A big truck slammed into our headquarters and three guys abducted you from our custody," Lasalle snarled, looking like he could come over the table and hang Lopez from the ceiling, "A little birdie told me they were friends of yours, but I want to get your take on it."

Lopez snorted.

"You know, you're screwed, don't you?" Gregorio stated flatly, "and if you don't start squealing like a pig, one day you're gonna be going from your cell to the cemetery."

"If you have so much on me already, why should I talk?" Lopez asked, his eyes sparking a challenge.

"Well, actually, we _don't_ have a lot," Lasalle admitted, sighing as a look of thoughtful disappointment took over his face, "All we really know for sure is that you're not the biggest piece in the pie. We want to know who you're taking orders from?"

Lopez's laugh seemed to vibrate the walls, but his body tensed with angst, "I got a better idea. How about I want a _lawyer_."

"Hm," Lasalle was unimpressed, cocking his head and crossing his arms over his chest, "I think we touched a sore spot, Gregorio."

"Me too," she smiled faintly, gliding over to take a seat next to him, "He doesn't want to admit that he isn't in charge." She smirked, "What a loser."

"He's just a grunt," Lasalle chuckled.

"You guys play a bad good cop, bad cop," Lopez sneered.

But before they could respond, Lasalle's phone rang. It was Pride.

* * *

 **Author's Notes** : One more chapter! Than you to everyone who read and reviewed, or just read. I really appreciate it!


	11. Chapter 11

Lasalle offered Lopez a crooked smile as he returned his phone to his pocket, "It looks like your time is up."

Lopez grunted sullenly, "I'm still waiting for that lawyer."

"That was Pride," Lasalle went on, nodding at Gregorio, "They found more than enough evidence in Hamilton's office to arrest him. Pride and Rita are on their way back. Apparently, Hamilton is already here."

" _What_?" Lopez gasped, slamming his fist into the table, "I don't believe it! He knows better than to leave anything—"

"Anything you say, can and will be used against you," Gregorio smirked.

"In a court of law," Lasalle finished, "It's about time that he saw one of those, isn't it?"

"I'll say."

" _Lawyer_!" Lopez barked, " _What is this_? The third time that I've asked and you guys just keep running your mouths? This is a gross violation of my rights!"

"Yada, yada, yada," Gregorio brushed aside his fury, looking bored, "From what I've heard, _we're_ not the ones running our mouth." Standing up, she asked Lasalle, "What's your guy want us to do?"

"He didn't say," he considered, waving to the officer in the observation room, "Let's let NOPD take care of this guy and you and I can go find out where his-not-so-honorable is being held."

" _Lead the way_!"

* * *

Percy was almost gleeful as she put Pride on speaker phone and called Linda and Laurel to listen in.

"We got em, girls!" he said, his voice catching briefly, " _All of em_!"

Linda sagged with relief and wrapped Laurel into a grateful hug, taking a few minutes to find her voice,

"You don't know how relieved I am," she finally croaked out, pulling Percy in for a group hug.

" _Oh_ ," his voice caught for a moment, "I don't know about that."

"Are you coming here now?" Laurel asked, anxiously.

"Noo, no" Pride winced, wanting to see them just as much as they wanted to see him, "I-i've got a few loose ends to wrap up here before you guys can come out." He sighed, "But you better pack because we'll meet up in a couple hours."

"We can't wait!" Linda replied, feeling a thrill at the thought of seeing him again.

~*0*~

"Well?" Pride turned to Rita as they pulled into the parking lot, "Let's go wrap this up."

"I'd like nothing better," she nodded, feeling a twang of remorse that things hadn't worked out for them, "You're good, Dwayne."

"You too, Rita."

"Hey, hey!" Pride grinned as they stepped through the doorway, almost running into Lasalle and Gregorio; he embraced his partner and shook the FBI agent's hand, "Nice job, you two."

"Hamilton is still being questioned in the same room that we had Lopez in," Lasalle quickly turned to business, "Lopez is cooling his heels until they get everything they can out of the mayor."

"Sounds good." Pride nodded.

"They said we could listen in," Gregorio added, nodding down the hall. She glanced at Rita, seeing her hesitation as Pride struck off down the hall, "You too."

" _Alright, fine, I did it_!" Hamilton raged an hour and a half later, just as Pride was beginning to think that he might never crack, "But I did it for the great city of New Orleans! Everything that I've ever done has been for this great city!"

Pride lunged to his feet, unable to keep his temper in check any longer.

" _Dwayne, Dwayne_ ," Rita caught his arm, reasoning with him, "They've got him. It's over. _Sit down_. There's more than enough evidence for a conviction. He isn't getting out. _Sit down_."

" _Whoa, King, whoa_ ," Lasalle jumped in front of him and braced, " _Hold on_. See, they're taking him back to lockup. It's alright. It's over. We've won."

"Everything alright, there?" Gregorio asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah." Pride looked at the floor and bit his lip to smother his fury, remembering that there was an outsider in the room. He shook himself and sighed.

Rita put a hand on his shoulder, "Isn't it time you met your family?"

Pride nodded, his spirits rising at the mention of them, "Yeah." He turned to Gregorio, "Thanks again—if you ever get tired of the FBI…"

"I'll make sure to run as fast and far away from here as possible." she assured him, choosing to ignore the comment about his closeness to the case. Shrugging, she added, "I'm not exactly a fan of the south."

"Ah, well, I'd better go tell Brody the good news and call Patton to bring the party goods to the hospital." Lasalle said, after an awkward pause, "You want to come, New York?"

"Nah, I gotta report in," she waved goodbye and turned to leave, "Y'all have fun celebrating, ya hear?"

"You know, you're invited? We won't hold your, ah, preference against you." Pride asked, as she put her hand on the doorknob.

"Well, not too much anyway," Lasalle grinned.

"We couldn't have caught them without you." Pride added.

"Thanks again, but no thanks," she shook her head, "I gotta report in and catch a plane."

"Well, alright," he sighed, not wanting to push anymore, and turned to Rita, "You're invited too, you know?"

"Oh, no...you need to be with your family tonight."

"You could meet Laurel," he coaxed, opting to press a bit.

" _Dwayne-_ " she fought herself, unsure of what Linda would think.

"Pretty please?" he tried again, "You're an old friend and you played a big part too."

" _Noooo_ ," she found her resolve and gave him a look, crossing her arms over her chest for emphasis.

* * *

" _Dad_!" Laurel raced to embrace him as he stepped through the bar's door, almost tackling him.

" _Hey_ ," he grinned with pleasure, catching his balance before he toppled over, " _Careful_."

" _Old man_ ," she mouthed silently, stepping back with a bright smile.

" _Watch it_ ," he answered with a grin.

"Dwayne…" Linda came forward, wrapping him in a warm embrace.

Gently rubbing her back, he struggled for words, but when she caught his chin between her thumb and forefinger and started to lean in for a kiss, his mind went blank.

"I-I don't know what to-" she murmured, pulling back at the last second.

"Don't say anything right now," he croaked, swallowing his disappointment with difficulty, "Really, Linda. You girls have been through a lot in the last few months and I'm just glad it's over."

" _Dwayne_ ," she tried again, "You can't just ignore—"

" _I'm not ignoring anything_ ," he insisted, giving her a meaningful look, "But we all need to just chill tonight. Trust me, I've seen this before."

"He's right, you know," Percy spoke up, reading Linda's frustration, "Give it at least tonight."

" _Alright_ ," she bit her lip hard, " _Alright_."

"We'll talk tomorrow," Pride assured her, "I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

Later that evening, Pride, Linda, Laurel, and Loretta entered Brody's hospital room to a round of applause.

" _There they are_!" Lasalle raised his fist with a grin and came forward to embrace them, "All safe and sound."

"Me thinks we did a good job today," Sebastian added, giving Linda and Laurel a quick hug.

"That's the truth!" Brody pumped her fist from her bed, "I just wish that I could've helped more."

"You kicked butt, Merri," Laurel assured, hurrying to give her a high-five and a hug.

"She did that," Sebastian agreed, his face glowing with fondness.

"And you'll be back on your feet soon," Pride added.

"She better!" Percy grinned, "Where would I be without her?"

Grinning, she changed the subject, "Say, how would you conquering heroes like a drink? The hospital wouldn't let us bring the _good_ stuff, but we've got coke, dr. pepper, sprite, and—"

"Nice cold icy water from the _tap_ ," Patton finished, laughing as a broad grin spread across his face, " _Mmm_."

" _Patton_!" Everyone laughed together.

" _Well_ ," Laurel answered, "I, for one, think that some nice cold icy water would hit the spot."

"One icy water coming right up. Linda? Pride? Whatcha want?

"Sprite," Linda said.

"Coke for me," Pride added.

And when they had filled their cups and toasted each other, he couldn't help but wonder what the future held.

* * *

 **Author's Notes** : First off, I want to thank everyone who read, reviewed, and/or enjoyed this story! It was great to have you along! I'm sorry about not keeping up with the anonymous reviews better than I did. I guess it would just slip my mind because I didn't update very regularly.

I know I've mentioned this before, but it's so hard to write Gregorio as she was at the beginning. I love how much she has grown. It's also weird to be writing about Brody; I miss her. I wonder where they would've gone with the Sebastian crush if she had stayed. Do you remember that? It was also weird to write about Rita not being Pride's girlfriend; I've really gotten to enjoy the Prita relationship and she better guest star again soon!

Say, are there any thoughts out there about Percy's departure? I couldn't help but remember how upset she was when Brody left and now she leaves.


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